Vietnam aims to repeat 6.8 pct GDP growth in 2020

Students practice at an industrial vocational training college in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

Vietnam forecasts its GDP to grow by 6.8 percent this year and plans to sustain it next year by increasing exports and controlling inflation.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the prediction in a report to the National Assembly Monday after the country’s January-September GDP expanded at 6.98 percent, the highest in nine years.

Exports this year are set to rise 7.9 percent from last year, making 2019 the fourth year in a row Vietnam records a trade surplus, he said, adding that the government targets to increase exports by 7 percent next year.

Inflation is likely to be 3 percent this year, and the government wants to keep it below 4 percent next year.

Phuc also noted other positive economic factors this year. Foreign exchange reserves were at $73 billion, twice that of 2016. Public debt stood at 56.1 percent of GDP, down 5.5 percentage points from 2016. Disbursed foreign direct investment reached a new peak this January-September at $14.2 billion.

Slow disbursement of public funding and some officials remaining bureaucratic and avoiding responsibilities were some of the negatives, the PM said.

He said that next year, the government aims to speed up work on infrastructure projects like metro lines and the Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The ongoing second National Assembly session this year began Monday and will end on November 27.